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Hop on the boat!
"So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come." (2 Cor. 5:17.)
From the days when Christians began first erecting houses of worship, architects and builders have intentionally made churches to look like up side down boats. Well before the cross and the crucifix were symbols of Christianity in art, the boat was our symbol. While the fish was a code word/symbol for us, the boat is depicted on the walls in ancient catacombs as a Christian symbol.The symbol of the boat as a significant Christian identity comes from the story this weekend of Jesus calming the storm while He was on the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. The reason that this was such a significant event for the early Church honor with artwork and churches is that the early Church was a persecuted Church and needed to know that the storms that they were facing were being calmed by Christ as well. With Christ at the helm of the Church and their lives, that even martyrdom could be faced with the hope of believing that the Lord would never abandon them.
This week in Charleston, South Carolina a racist with a gun murdered nine people while they were studying God's Holy Word in their church. It makes us grieve. It saddens me that there are more families that are fractured deeply. It saddens me that the Emanuel AME Church members, the people of Charleston, African Americans all around the US and the world, and people of every race who care are more injured and divided today than they were before Wednesday evening. "That they may be one" was Jesus' prayer to His Father at the Last Supper in the Gospel of John. and it seems that we are becoming less "one" and more separated.
Yet we are called to hope, trust, believe, forgive and care. Jesus was and is the proof that with God all things are possible. God becomes a human being in Christ. God cures, heals and forgives in Christ. God feeds us makes us Christ's Body. God defeats sin, division and death in Christ. Christ is the only real solution to any storm we face.
If you are ready to go live in a cave and give up, please wait. The actions of one hate filled man are not enough to negate the love and care of God. The hateful words, actions and mindsets of the racists who live in our United States or the terrorists of ISIS are nothing compared to God's forgiveness and peace. There are many reasons that we are divided. But there is only one BEST reason to hang in there. God creates us anew. He didn't create us and leave us alone. God is still creating us and His Kingdom. We are called to stay on the boat and trust our Lord.
peace,
Fr. Chuck
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come." (2 Cor. 5:17.)
From the days when Christians began first erecting houses of worship, architects and builders have intentionally made churches to look like up side down boats. Well before the cross and the crucifix were symbols of Christianity in art, the boat was our symbol. While the fish was a code word/symbol for us, the boat is depicted on the walls in ancient catacombs as a Christian symbol.The symbol of the boat as a significant Christian identity comes from the story this weekend of Jesus calming the storm while He was on the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. The reason that this was such a significant event for the early Church honor with artwork and churches is that the early Church was a persecuted Church and needed to know that the storms that they were facing were being calmed by Christ as well. With Christ at the helm of the Church and their lives, that even martyrdom could be faced with the hope of believing that the Lord would never abandon them.
This week in Charleston, South Carolina a racist with a gun murdered nine people while they were studying God's Holy Word in their church. It makes us grieve. It saddens me that there are more families that are fractured deeply. It saddens me that the Emanuel AME Church members, the people of Charleston, African Americans all around the US and the world, and people of every race who care are more injured and divided today than they were before Wednesday evening. "That they may be one" was Jesus' prayer to His Father at the Last Supper in the Gospel of John. and it seems that we are becoming less "one" and more separated.
Yet we are called to hope, trust, believe, forgive and care. Jesus was and is the proof that with God all things are possible. God becomes a human being in Christ. God cures, heals and forgives in Christ. God feeds us makes us Christ's Body. God defeats sin, division and death in Christ. Christ is the only real solution to any storm we face.
If you are ready to go live in a cave and give up, please wait. The actions of one hate filled man are not enough to negate the love and care of God. The hateful words, actions and mindsets of the racists who live in our United States or the terrorists of ISIS are nothing compared to God's forgiveness and peace. There are many reasons that we are divided. But there is only one BEST reason to hang in there. God creates us anew. He didn't create us and leave us alone. God is still creating us and His Kingdom. We are called to stay on the boat and trust our Lord.
peace,
Fr. Chuck
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